Plans for Upper Pengarth wind turbine overturned

Graham Williams successfully challenged Powys council in a judicial review

Plans for a wind turbine at a Powys beauty spot have been overturned after a businessman challenged a council decision in the High Court.

Graham Williams, 70, who runs a horse-riding business near Hay-on-Wye, said the turbine in the Radnor Hills would damage the landscape and the economy.

He successfully challenged the Powys council decision in a judicial review at the High Court in Cardiff.

The council said it would re-consider the application on a date to be fixed.

The council approved plans for a 40-metre high wind turbine in Upper Pengarth in the Radnor Hills, near the village of Clyro, last December.

We are just one of dozens of very small businesses here in the hills which depend almost solely on the quality of the landscapeGraham Williams, Businessman

But Mr Williams warned of the potentially damaging impact the construction of the turbine would have on the local landscape and economy.

Dr Justin Neal, a solicitor who represented Mr Williams, said: "When councils have to consider new applications for wind turbines, they have to look carefully at their local policies and to act consistently and with care.

"It's all very well to say that a turbine in isolation will have a limited impact on people and the environment, but where there are a number of existing and proposed turbines in the same area, the application should be put in context. That simply did not happen here."

Mr Williams said people visited the Radnor Hills because they were undeveloped and the scenery was "world class".

"We are just one of dozens of very small businesses here in the hills which depend almost solely on the quality of the landscape," he said.

Chairman of Powys council's planning, taxi licensing and rights of way committee, David Price, said: "We have conceded that proper consideration may not have been given to our policies when we determined this application and we have agreed to withdraw planning consent.

"Due to this outcome, the committee will re-consider this application for determination. We do not have a date at this stage of when the application will be reconsidered."